Divine Feminine

Swan Past Life Story - The Vow to Carry On Alone

Today I share Rebecca's Swan Past Life Story. I met Rebecca when she was co-presenting an ecoprinting workshop - a workshop that fascinated me as it involved cooking up in a cauldron recycled items like old keys, pieces of metal, wood and leaves and flowers to create natural dyes for silk. I loved the transformation of items regarded as waste or rubbish into incredible beauty.
Rebecca's story is of a young girl who on her mother's death-bed promised to carry on in life alone. To survive without the love and assistance of any members of her Feminine Matriarchal line. As with many of these Soul Promises made in past lives, the energy and binding of these oaths are carried by our spirit with us into the present. It is a beautiful remembering of a life endured with quiet strength and in the release of the binding comes the release from that word 'endure'. How many of us have endured our lives? For so many lifetimes we have had to 'make do' in hard times. I am so happy to see that we are now remembering ancient ways of creating communities through creativity and motherhood and sacred medicine. If we are without elders in this lifetime we can seek them out in community and this is why the Red Tent movement of creating sacred space for women is so important. As are the sacred spaces being created by our brothers for men to meet and share and receive the guidance that may not be available to them in their birth families.
The painting you see above, 'Christina's World' by Andrew Wyeth was chosen by Rebecca to accompany her Swan Story and I am always so fascinated to see the threads of art symbolism woven into the words of story.  When I looked into the story behind this painting I discovered that the model for it was Wyeth's neighbour, Christina, who had polio and had lost the use of her legs. This painting had been inspired when he'd seen her pulling herself across the field to her home with strength of her arms alone. It is poignant to me that when parts of our spirits are bound by past life vows, in soul loss, our present lives can often feel like this - as if mobility and movement is somehow limited by energy beyond our control. The gift of this impediment is that we are often forced to develop new skills and ways of finding nourishment beyond the normal constraints of culture and society. This is why, I believe, we are seeing a rise in the shamanic approach to spirit - regardless of the fact that western society has become so urbanised and materialistic. Our spirits are wise and we remember the truth - that we are all one, that our mothers and fathers are many, and the greatest source of Feminine Love is always available to us when we connect to the Earth.

Deep in the heart of Mother Mountain, in the home of the Crone, who has a name I can’t remember, I looked into the Well of Memory. She emerged, a young girl with red hair, wearing a dress with an old-fashioned collar. She stretched out a hand, and we met, palm to palm. I joined her in a country field, wheat waving golden in the afternoon light. We walked towards a farmhouse, and her sadness, grief and loneliness were tangible within me. 

The girl led me into the empty house, upstairs, to a bedroom. The bed was smoothly made, a sense of timelessness in the air. Without words, I understood that her mother had died here, and in the last moments of her life, she’d compelled her daughter to make her a promise: to live, to survive, to carry on, despite the painful lack of any feminine energy. No mother, no grandmother to hold her. 

The girl was stoic and sad. She had to hold herself, and it was a very lonely path. 

I felt grief, tears, and the familiarity of her pain deep within me. The resonance of making do without loving feminine energy around me. Nowhere to receive a deep hug, or older wisdom and nurture. I felt all that, and how I live that, and I also felt how this no longer serves me in this lifetime. I felt how it is shifting. I have survived that painful absence of Mother, and now I can soften and seek out the love and support of the feminine all around me. 

Crow came and led me out of the mountain, flying from tree to tree. I felt her energy of watchfulness and waiting, a companion high up in the branches. I felt the holding all around me. There is enough. I am safe and loved. And I can offer safety and love to my daughter and all those around me.  Rebecca, 2013

Thank you Rebecca for sharing your beautiful story and helping us all to remember that we are not alone. Rebecca is embracing her medicine as Artisan and this is one of the many ways to express the limitless power of the Feminine. You can read her inspiring words at her website: Healing Tools - I visited yesterday and spent a couple of hours immersed in her nourishing stories and wisdom. And you can also see the stunning ecoprinting creation and take part in workshops with the Oracle Textile Collective here. Love to you beautiful Artisan x

Birth of the Water Serpent

A young Suhaila Salimpour girl

Tonight we welcome the Year of the Black Water Snake in Chinese Astrology and also celebrate a New Moon in Aquarius. Water Bearers and Water Serpents - messages from the Stars and the deep Earth Dwellers carried through the intuitive and healing element of Water. I always feel as if the true New Year starts on this day with much of the last month taken up in tying up loose ends from the 2012 and making plans for changes in 2013.

The prophecies for this Black Water Snake year are that we will experience more turmoil with the crumbling of old structures and outdated ways of thinking and the gift of the Snake will be to find new ways to create abundance.  I believe we must learn to shed our old skin like the snake and also to be inspired by its fluid and graceful serpentine movement. When we develop grace and presence in our bodies we can begin to feel and understand the subtle vibrations of the shifting body of our Great Mother, Gaia - the Earth.

We began to feel the call of the forest last year after receiving shamanic dreams telling us that we would be moving to Sherbrooke Forest. Recently we made the move from Williamstown an inner city suburb of Melbourne and indeed found a house in a deep green dell in Sherbrooke. Even though we had been given so many messages and signs to move it was still a time of upheaval, massive change, release, and a bit of a leap into the unknown. But a leap that felt so very natural at the same time. We simply had to trust. And we are so glad that we did, the deep presence of the giant Mountain Ash trees that surround our home are already helping us to anchor our shamanic work more easily and in the ceremonies and sessions that we have held over the Dark Moon of the last few days we have seen such profound and quick shifts in our clients.  The word I kept hearing over and over when we first stepped onto this land was 'immense' - boundless, beyond the measurements of man. We had to bring our work into the Deep.

And so, if I can give any advice in these changing times, it would be to encourage you to keep an open heart and strong boundaries, trust in your intuition and pay attention to your dreams.  Whenever you can, find time to sit quietly in nature. I believe that 2013 will be a year of change and upheaval but also a deepening of our ability to grasp the mysteries of our bodies and our earth. 2013 has also been called the Year of the Witch and I believe this is because we are finally waking to the true and natural essence of this deeply feminine magic. The rise of the Divine Feminine is bringing a much needed balance to our world. This does not have to be a confusing or difficult time if we can keep letting go of the past, take responsibility for our actions in the present and dream with fearless love a new future.

The beautiful totem of Snake is so very potent and alive in Australia and embracing the Serpentine energy of the Divine Feminine to be received by the noble integrity of the Divine Masculine is an integral part of many of the new sessions and ceremonies we will be holding here in the forest. We will be announcing these new offerings over the next few days as the New Moon ripens. Love your way for your New Moon dreaming with Water Snake tonight.

Eve  by Lucien Levy-Dhurmer

Swan Blessing Story: The Enchantress Reclaimed

Ruth St. Denis 1910

Today I share a song of a Swan Blessing story by Lucille who reflects on the journey of the Enchantress Witch. In the rise of the Divine Feminine we are hearing our bodies call and sing again. The Swan invites you to know your own true beauty, to live on this incredible earth deeply, to FEEL again. This is Lucille's story, and I honour her for sharing it with us all. May it assist you on your own journey to release past lifetimes of shame, judgement and fear. Sister Swan you are Beauty!


My soul has memories. They have grown over the years. Burnings, vivid recall. Knowings of persecution, fear, judgement and hate. Triggered by images in movies, words of others, people and their looks of scorn. The word Bitch and the word Witch, only one letter separates them. I have oscillated between empowerment, true intuition and denial, depression and self loathing. Why am I this way? Why can I feel what you feel, even when I don’t want to? Why can I sense what you are thinking, even when I don’t care to? 

My Magic is movement, the beauty of my body. The form and the soft caress of my sway. I entice, inspire and engage the senses. I hypnotise you with my hips. My way is truly feminine, my undulations without shame. We dance, we love and we birth, all from the centre of our hips, the seat of our power, the lips of love. The gateway of desire, passion, life and power. 

Once a blessing, often a curse. They way of the enchantress Witch has been a hard way, our power when suppressed and denied, turns dark. It turns ugly and seeps out, from under the door like an angry thick  fog. Black magic, Sorcery. Hate is powerful, my emotions have caused great pain, unto others but most of all unto myself. 

The way of love and light is easy. The way out of the murk, the quick sand that threatens to eat you up is swift and painless. Those who judge me I now hold a mirror to, those who hate me, I now feel compassion for. Those who don’t want to know what I truly live for, can’t see my passion, desire and need for Magic, I let them go.  Those that come to me for healing, that feel called to be released from the shame of their bodies, from deep sensual wounds that have been carried for generations, I say come. Let me hold you, let me heal you, let me see you for the beauty and goodness that you truly are. Divine, Wonderous, Damp and Sexy. Woman.  

Trust your body! You’ll know when its right, because your Pussy will tinkle with delight.  She will bubble up when the flow is perfect, when you intuition says fly. Use her wisdom everyday, in everyway. 

Let’s take our power back, let’s turn the words around. 

Now I say,
I’m Bitchin, when I’m Witchin.
 

The Swan Blessing. What can I say? It was when I came home.

Thank you Lucille, beautiful woman! You can invite the enchantress into your own life through Lucille's classes 'Awaken Serpent', enjoy the many riches she has to offer through her website: www.itsladylucille.com.  And visit her brand new store Cobra Culture!

Welcoming the Dark Sister - Embracing Black Moon Lilith

The first of the Black Moon Lilith Illumination workshops has already filled within a week, showing me just how necessary and needed this beautiful shadow work is for us at the moment. For those of you who missed out on a place, I will be holding the next workshop on the Dark Moon in Gemini on Monday, 18th June. Please contact me with your birth details if you feel called to explore this illuminating work.

At this time of the rise of the Divine Feminine we are asked to illuminate the shadow aspects of lives to bring these 'orphaned' or 'outcast' aspects of ourselves into the luminous circle. Once embraced and loved they begin to become powerful traits and treasured gifts.

In this small and personal workshop held on the Dark Moon in Gemini a time when we can receive messages from our 'twin' or 'other' self, we will discover through Astrology where our Black Moon Lilith  resides in our Natal Chart. Through the ancient symbols of the Tarot we will find a language to help us to delve into the Deep, the Unknown to recover, honour and welcome every part of ourselves. It is time to reclaim the wise woman, the shamaness, the wild creatures. It is time to express our True Nature.

8 places available: please contact Julia with your birth details.

Returning Home Retreat at Hanging Rock

Danu of the Celts by Dean Morrisey www.deanmorrisseystudio.com

A heartfelt thank you to the beautiful women who attended our Returning Home Retreat at Hanging Rock last week. What a truly magical and deeply healing experience. Thank you all for journeying with us Beyond the Ninth Wave it would not have been so incredible without the individual beauty & powerful medicine you each carry within you.

Returning Home...


Hello Everyone,

this year I am over the moon to be holding a magical forest retreat for women in the sacred country of Hanging Rock. Our beautiful retreat house is nestled in 150 acres of tree-filled wonderland abundant with animals and we have our own personal chef cooking us yummy gourmet vegetarian meals. On this retreat we will focus on connection to the Divine Feminine and our Inner Knowing through meditation, sacred ceremony & the intuitive arts in the warm embrace of Nature and her plant & animal guardians. We are all so naturally gifted & wise but often have a hard time accessing deep peace due to our hectic lives. When we are in Retreat, we can hear the still quiet voice within and learn to trust and develop new pathways to our dreams. If you feel called to return to Nature and your True Self, it may be time to share this Returning Home with us. 


Details
Starts: 11am Friday 8th April
Finishes: 4pm Sunday 10th April


Prices
The retreat is set in a luxurious property crafted by hand - enjoy warm fires, spa, gourmet meals
Communal room (6 beds in shared room): $620 ($570 early bird price if paid by 28th Feb)
Your own room: (7 available): $680 ($630 early bird price to be paid by 28th Feb)

Places are strictly limited to 13 people only so that we can work deeply. To reserve your place, please contact me as soon as you can,

Warm Wishes,

Julia

Manifestation Mandala for 2011

Manifestation Mandala   www.fractalenergymandala.com
This year I am devoting much of my work to uniting the Divine Feminine & Divine Masculine energies to create a sense of 'coming home to ourselves' and this beautiful mandala has been created to express this same energy. We can create amazing beauty in 2011 - let's express our true nature! This is what the creator has to say about the mandala:

2011 Manifestation Mandala
This is a powerful transcendent year, the numbers eleven and four are the principle energies manifesting a spirit of transformation for the year 2011. Eleven holds the space for spiritual awakening and transcendence, while the four brings dynamic energy into the physical form - Making Manifest the Deep Desires of the Heart. This year is in perfect harmony between the Divine Masculine and the Divine Feminine which opens the opportunity for remarkable realized manifestations.

Affirmation:
I open my longing heart to the full release of my deep desires both hidden and seen; I set my expectation to enter into and becoming one unto the manifestation of my desires. I am fully engaged with the Sacred Dance of intimacy between the Feminine and Masculine energies that give birth to my superabundant magical life. I see Heaven above mingled with Heaven below, my words becoming flesh and the thoughts of my heart expressed in actuality. And so it is...

If you would like a printable PDF version of this Mandala please sign up for Fractal Energy email list
You are Loved,
Keith

Thank you Keith!

The Silver Doorway - Advanced Tarot Course

For those of you who have completed The Path Within and been waiting for the 2nd step into the realm of Advanced Tarot, I'm happy to announce I am opening enrolments for The Silver Doorway starting in May. In this course we throw away the books and step deeper into our own Knowing and trusting our Intuition. Based on the Celtic mythology of the Ninth Wave, in these 9 weeks we will be working deeply with the Divine Feminine through guided meditation, reading intricate Tarot spreads, developing connection with your Animal Totems & Spirit Guides and most importantly, learning to BELIEVE IN YOURSELF!

To be eligible for this course you will have completed The Path Within and be ready to step through The Silver Doorway...